UK Treasury Committee publishes Libor report

18 August 2012

The Treasury Select Committee today published its report, 'Fixing Libor: some preliminary findings', following its inquiry into the Final Notice issued by the Financial Services Authority with respect to Barclays on 27 June, 2012.

The 300-page report and annexes, based on a number of high profile hearings, came about after a scandal emerged in June when UK and US authorities fined Barclays £290m for fixing a key inter-bank interest rate. "Such behaviour would only be possible if the management of the bank turned a blind eye to the culture of the trading floor", the report said.

The Treasury Select Committee blames bank bosses for "disgraceful" behaviour which damaged the UK's reputation - the bank says it knows changes are needed. The MPs also criticise the FSA and Bank of England's regulatory supervision.

Commenting on the report, the Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, Andrew Tyrie MP, said:

"As a result of this inquiry, a good deal of further information has now been brought into the public domain. The Committee has called for action in a number of areas, including:
Along with my colleagues on the Treasury Committee, I was shocked when the FSA’s Final Notice against Barclays was first published. The sustained rigging of a crucial benchmark rate has done great damage to the UK’s reputation. Public trust in banks is at an all time low.
 
Urgent improvements, both to the way banks are run, and the way they are regulated, is needed if public and market confidence is to be restored."
The Bank of England is accused of being "naïve" about the possibility of Libor manipulation during the financial crisis and of being "relatively inactive". But the MPs say the failure of the FSA, the main bank regulator, to do its job and properly investigate the market rumours was far worse.
 
Reform of the way Libor is calculated is currently being reviewed by the managing director of the Financial Services Authority, Martin Wheatley, at the request of the government. In their report, the MPs said he should recommend changes to the financial services and markets laws to make it easier to prosecute attempts to manipulate Libor or any other similar rates.
 
In a statement, a Treasury spokesman said:
"The manipulation of key global benchmark rates has been another example of a culture of irresponsibility within the banking system, which the Government is determined to fix as quickly as possible.
 
The Government has already established the Wheatley Review into Libor, which published a discussion paper last week and will produce final recommendations by the end of the summer, and any necessary legislative changes will be considered for inclusion in the Financial Services Bill or the Banking Reform Bill."
Press release
 
Full report

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